Mr Crosby — known as “the Wizard of Oz” for his multiple successes in
Australian elections — is apparently set to start work within weeks as the
Prime Minister’s general election strategist in charge of masterminding the
2015 campaign.

The return of the figure closely associated with the Tories’ failed crime and
immigration-centred 2005 campaign under Michael Howard has divided opinion
within the party.

Lord Ashcroft, the former deputy party chairman, has warned that recruiting Mr
Crosby was a “recipe